SkyMall is a specialty publishing firm headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona,[1] best known for publishing a self-titled in-flight publication, SkyMall, with an annual circulation of approximately 20 million copies distributed in airplane seat pockets. SkyMall is a multi-channel, direct marketer offering products through direct marketers and manufacturers through its SkyMall catalogue and website, skymall.com.

The SkyMall catalog is seen by approximately 88% of all domestic air passengers in the United States, reaching more than 650 million air travelers annually. In January 2015 the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.[2] In April 2015 it was purchased in bankruptcy court by C&A Marketing.[3]

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SkyMall, Inc. was founded in 1990 by Bob Worsley, Alan Lobock, Matthew Del Bianco, and Graham Alcock.[4] Originally, it intended to "get customers to order within 20 minutes of landing and have the goods waiting for them on arrival", before it switched to home delivery.[2] Same-day delivery required SkyMall to operate its own warehouses near select airports.[5]

Shortly after launching, the company purchased contracts from another company that allowed it to offer catalog merchandise to travelers flying U.S. air carriers. This move, which did not receive the support of all of the founders, required a significant shift in SkyMall's focus and operations, ultimately forcing the company to abandon same-day delivery and nearly bankrupting it.[citation needed] The company now offers goods from other companies' catalogs for drop-ship to the customer via third-party transport firms.[citation needed]

Since 1999, SkyMall ownership has "bounced around among several private-equity companies",[2] including by Najafi Companies, the largest private equity firm in Arizona in 2012.[5] In 2009 SkyMall's website "generated approximately $80.5 million in revenue", making it the 185th largest e-commerce website by revenue.[5]

On May 17, 2013, SkyMall merged with Xhibit Corp, described as a new "marketing software and digital advertising company that trades on an 'over-the-counter' exchange where equity shares of small companies can be bought and sold".[5]

On January 22, 2015, SkyMall, LLC and several affiliated companies, including its parent company Xhibit Corp., voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona.[6] On April 1, SkyMall was purchased out of bankruptcy court by C&A Marketing for $1.9 million; the new owners plan to re-launch the catalog with a new product selection that will partially downplay the brand's association with novelty items in favor of "more of the innovative, fun, cool products that people are looking for, but that are still in keeping with the DNA of SkyMall."[7][8]

SkyMall is often parodied for selling sometimes unusual products. References in music and TV include:

In the Futurama episode "A Farewell to Arms", Bender is seen reading a copy of SpaceMall, a parody of SkyMall, while on the Planet Express Ship.

SkyMall was referenced in the Breaking Bad episode "Negro y Azul", when a cartel member (Danny Trejo) is demanding a list of items from the magazine in turn for helping out the DEA, and in "Hermanos", when a DEA agent (Dean Norris) unveils a GPS tracking device purchased from SkyMall.

An article on Cracked.com, written by an official columnist, lists "The 7 Most Useless Skymall Products", which lists 7 comically, seemingly pointless, products previously sold through SkyMall.[9]

Skymall was referenced in the Scars episode of the television show called Agents of SHIELD, by the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Sam (Billy's twin brother) having received a small favor from Agent Colson after his American flight 220 in to a secret underground facility Sam managed, in the form of what the viewer sees as a Skymall magazine issue, with Sam saying, "...I hope they never go out of business" (this occurred in the SHIELD storyline past).

In Parks and Recreation, Tom purchases several pieces of hi-tech camping equipment from SkyMall with the intention of returning them for a refund after the trip was over.